Need Role Models for International Women's Day 2016? Here Are 4 Amazing TV Characters!

March 8th marks International Women's Day 2016, and while there's still plenty of ground to cover when it comes to reaching equality, there's still a lot to be proud of in terms of what has been achieved in decades of feminism. To celebrate this day in history, we're taking a tour of a few of the most bada$ ladies currently on television -- look out for these 4 amazing female characters!

1. Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)

via GIPHY

Daenerys Stormborn, Queen of Mereen, and of the Great Grass Sea, etcetera, is one of the strongest ladies on television. After her family was banished from the throne and Westeros, the blonde suffered emotional abuse from her delusional brother throughout her whole childhood, and he even sold her off to Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), which didn't quite turn out the way he planned.

Daenerys, who went from nothing to one of the most powerful women in the series, has turned into a fan favorite role. A smart woman and a fierce defender of freedom, this Queen stands her ground at every move and rules in kindness and intelligence.

She also has dragons, which is pretty cool.

Although it's been criticized time and again for its violence towards women, Game of Thrones also happens to be the TV show with possibly the largest quote of strong female characters. Daenerys is one, but there are a few other ladies like Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), the much-hated Queen Cersei (Lena Headey) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) that could just as easily be on this list.

2. Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell)

via GIPHY

First introduced on Captain America: The First Avenger, Peggy is a talented woman making her way through a man's world in the harsh, sexist world of the 1940's. While fictional, Peggy is the kind of woman that made the way for others in the decades to come, proving she was just as talented (or even more so) as her coworkers in a strong field.

Much like GoT, Marvel has also endured a lot of criticism over its underrepresentation of strong female characters in movies, but the shows have tried really hard to make up for that. Last year, Netflix introduced Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones, and Agents of SHIELD features a few amazing ladies like Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) and Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird (Adrienne Palicki).

3. Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington)

via GIPHY

Olivia might be pretty bad at making emotional choices, but nobody's better at her job than she is. A keen analyst and fixer of situations that have gotten out of hand, the Scandal main character is a true Gladiator behind the scenes during some of the biggest power moves in the United States and with the ability to create and dissipate chaos in Washington, one of the most scandal-filled cities in the world.

At one point, Olivia was even making the big decisions at the Oval Office. And what's more, she does everything with flair, a killer wardrobe, high heels and a glass of the best wine.

Who wouldn't want to be the head of Olivia Pope & Associates?

4. Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper)

via GIPHY

Unlike some of the ladies in this list, Kimmy's strength doesn't come from fist power, but rather from character: it takes a lot of guts to be that happy and that positive after the amount of suffering this character has gone through.

Granted, Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt may be a comedy, but this woman was holed up in a basement with three other women and a madman for 15 years. She missed 15 years of pop culture, big events in her own life and interpersonal relationships, and yet she manages to view life with optimism and focus on what can happen rather than what happened in her past.

Then again, Kimmy was created by Tina Fey, the same woman behind Liz Lemon, so is it that surprising she's amazing?